A Spirited Act
by BloomxPerish
Summary: Naruto starts to have nightmares. It's only when he lets his barriers fall that he finds solace in an unlikely place. Set during an alternative storyline where Sasuke doesn't leave. SasuNaru in later chapters. Slash.
1. Didn't You See What I've Done?

**Summary: **Naruto starts to have nightmares. It's only when he lets his barriers fall that he finds solace in an unlikely place. Set during an alternative storyline where Sasuke doesn't leave. Non-explicit SasuNaru in later chapters. Slash  
**Warnings: **I'll repeat myself- this story will contain slash, although there isn't any in this particular chapter. So don't read it if you don't like. Also, this is unbeta-ed- feel free to point out mistakes! But bear in mind some of them might just be British spellings or conventions!

**Chapter 1**  
_  
The sickly, cleansing pressure of the white against his eyes caused him to blink, to stop them from stinging. He reopened them to find it wasn't free of blemishes. He seemed to be standing, a solitary figure, dwarfed by a vast wall of white. Reaching out to touch it, he found his hand causing ripples in the air, which spread to an intimidating size at an alarmingly rapid pace, before diffusing completely. This non-solidity was contradicted entirely by the stark, consuming black of the clear shadow projected on to the surface. The active shadow of a dancer, hypnotic and graceful._

_He took an anxious step backwards, belatedly realising that stepping away from the liquid wall to escape the unnerving shadow would only bring him closer to the cause of it. He span._

"Who are you...?"

_The words attempted to form on his lips but no sound was emitted. As he noticed the white noise that had filled his ears, he realised his voice did not work here. He could only attempt to decipher the appearance of the figure, seemingly acres away from him but colourfully distinguishable. Attired, he assumed, in traditional clothing, she advanced. Approaching with a gentle walk, dispersing ripples with every step._

_The instinct of fear had disappeared as, just like her dance, her presenc__e was hypnotic. It __seemed__ hours before she reached him, stopping an arm's reach away. Contrasted brilliantly against her pale complexion, dark eyes surveyed him. She placed a small, empty smile onto blood red lips. It was an attempt at being understanding, an underwhelming display of pity- as though she were actually incapable of the emotion. Her soulless expression intensified, washing over him with tidal waves of nausea and within him grew a sense of unease. He wanted her to leave. He wanted to her invade no more of his space- her presence was cloying, inescapable. She placed her cool hands on his shoulders. _

_The world bled colour._

_Like watching an artist gradually complete a painting, a scene unravelled before his eyes. He saw an assembled crowd of black- a funeral procession-, heads bowed in grief or respect he was unsure. The restoral of his hearing erupted into his ears. A clear male voice swam through the air._

"_-- murdered by a demon. Their service as shinobi to their country shall never be forgotten--"_

_He was to hear no more, however._

"_Turn." The woman, or female-looking spirit being a title which he felt more fitting, said. Her voice was high, commanding- he saw the swift flicker of her tongue, the flash of sharp__teeth, the darkening of already impossibly dark eyes- and he found himself obeying, although the strong grip she had on him provided no choice in the matter. _

_He noticed first the man taking the service but his eyes wandered swiftly to the framed photographs of the deceased shinobi. His heart stopped. Staring back at him, morbidly, amongst ceremonial flowers and cards of farewell, were the faces of his team._

Kakashi.... Sakura... Sasuke...

"…_murdered by a demon..."_

_Panicked, he reflexively stepped backwards, wanting to turn and run and deny, wanting for this twisted, evil nightmare to end. However, her grip, deadly and tight, held him firmly in place. He could visualise clearly the smile she must be wearing; that façade of pity that she seemed to revel in, prolonging the pain of this impossible moment. He wouldn't, couldn't... he would never kill them..._

_Suddenly, like the simple flick of a wrist that could unleash a flurry of shuriken onto an enemy, she pushed him, further into the despair, into the guilt. Another scene erupted before his eyes, replacing the one before. Initially, relief flooded his being; maybe the dream was ending. He was wrong. Flames; magnificent, destructive an__d__, to him, frighteningly familiar flooded his vision. He knew, from their vibrancy- the bloodlust that stirred within him from absorbing that colour and heat- that these flames; they had been caused by him._

_Then came the sound._

_A female scream, instantly recognisable, shot through the air. Tortured, he could only fall to his knees and pointlessly cover his ears. Cover them against the following thuds of kunai that he realised to be the futile attempts to prevent the murders that he- _he_- was going to commit. He could only watch- an omnipotent presence, witness to his own atrocious acts. He couldn't drown out the sound, dull the images- his eyes were unable to close. It wasn't long before his voice joined the cries of pain- cries for mercy, pleading __for __him to stop. He __yearned __for the nightmare to cease, recede from his mind, restore him to reality, where he hadn't- __w__ouldn't- murder anyone. _

_He couldn't take much more. His mind responded with a jolt and catapulted him awake._

* * *

Blurrily, his vision filled with the canopies of trees above, illuminated faintly by flickering orange. He could feel the itchy material of a regulation blanket beneath his fingertips, which he clutched tightly, thankful for how grounding it was. Such a simple object, yet it brought back a welcomed sense of reality. His eyes tracked the strange light to its source, their campfire. Suddenly, images of his nightmare flashed thorugh his mind, bringing with them a strong wave of nausea as he recalled details better forgotten. He shot from his sleeping spot, barely noticing the glare Sasuke sent him for the noise and rushed off into the trees to vomit.

Sasuke glared murderously after him, hissing at the annoyingly loud sound of rustling leaves. It was an incredibly unprofessional display of shinobi behaviour and Naruto was lucky that this mssion didn't require them to be overly covert. Naruto would have just revealed them to their enemy, putting all of them in danger.

He emerged from the trees several minutes later, looking shaky and agitated. He wiped his mouth with is sleeve at least twice before reaching his sleeping mat.

"What the hell do you think you're playing at?" Sasuke hissed, eyes wide with forced insomnia, voice laced with irriation. Naruto was used to his glares but he wasn't in the mood for an argument. He returned the glare wth equal violence.

"I went to throw up." he stated simply, daring Sasuke to question further. Sasuke's next expression told Naruto that he thought he perhaps could have used more discretion.

"There was no need to wake the entire forest." he said, still oddly agitated. He had kept watch for most of the night- in order to keep the team safe, and Naruto had almost gone and shattered all that effort by his carelessness.

"Shut up."

His eyes flickered back over to the fire- he wonderd why Sasuke was suddenly so obsessed with discretion- the fire would be beacon enough to any enemy wishing to seek them out. Sasuke was acting as though they were carrying out a highly dangerous S-rank mission, in which his concerns would be justified. But they were returning from a delivery mission and hadn't even had to carry a reply or return pacakge back. They had nothing to offer the enemy.

As usual , Sasuke was just trying to pick fault with him and his shinobi techniques. Irritable and tired, stressed from his nightmare and the fear it had caused him, his eyes returned to glare at Sasuke with added conviction. He met Sasuke's gaze again, realising that the Uchiha had been watching him the entire time.

"What's your problem?" he said vicously, not even bothering to whisper. Sasuke didn't even dignify him with a response and continued to glare with some expresison of resigned derision. "Answer me!"

At Naruto's growl, Sasuke's gaze hardened into something less mocking and more defensive. "Your carelessness, idiot."

There was sound of defiant protest from Naruto- did Sasuke just expect him to swallow his vomit or something?

"I wasn't being careless." he was glaring again.

"Aren't shinobi supposed to discrete?" it was a rhetorical question. Naruto stomped over to Sasuke, closer to the fire, acutely aware of the sinister images it was creating in his mind, and glared down at him.

"Shut up."

Sasuke smirked at Naruto's strangled half-yell. "Loser."

Naruto snapped. He grabbed Sasuke's shirt and yanked him up to eye level, "What is your fucking problem?"

He didn't catch the primary look of bewildrement that crossed Sasuke's face; it was quickly replaced with the useful apathetic display.

"Let go, Na-"

"Apologise!" Naruto growled. As Sasuke attempted to disentangle himself from Naruto's anguished grip, Sakura stirred and raised her head groggily to find the source of the noise and immediately frowned.

"It's the middle of the night, you guys!" she half-yawned, "Knock it off before you wake Kakashi!"

Placing her head back down on her makeshift pillow, she barely noticed the flash of metal as Naruto snatched a kunai from his pouch and held it to Sasuke's neck. It was the dangerous tone she detected in Naruto's voice, the barely concealed fury and resentment, that caused her to bolt upright once more.

"I said apologise!"

"What are you doing?" she shrieked, eyes widening in shock. Time appeared to slow down Sasuke snatched at Naruto's wrist and managed -they were moving _so _fast- to get Naruto to drop the weapon. The next thing Sakura saw was the two of them on the ground in what appeared to be a childish wrestling match. Punches were thrown and Sakura shot up from the ground.

"Stop it!"

She didn't want to get involved- this wasn't the usual little disagreement. Naruto eyes had adopted a maniacal glare; a red mist had descended across his vision. She was saved from her rising panic by Kakashi who had finally been awoken by their noise. He pulled the two of them apart, keeping a firm grip on the back of Naruto's jacket.

"You two can't seem to keep your hands off of each oth-" Kakashi started.

"I hate you so much!" Naruto yelled, yanking so hard against Kakashi's grip that he almost broke free.

"I never noticed that before." Sasuke retorted, making a safe retreat into his usual sarcasm, ignoring the taste of blood on his tongue.

"You- you…" Naruto started, visibly sagged and was suddenly silent. His eyes found interest in the ground and widened slightly, apologetically… almost…

"What happened anyway?" Sakura interjected in a hope to dispel the frightening awkwardness settling over them.

"It was nothing." Naruto muttered, avoiding her eyes.

Silently, Sasuke approached his makeshift bed, a clear signal that he'd had enough of watch duty that night. Naruto settled down into the spot Sasuke had previously occupied and focussed stubbornly on the flames of their campfire eliciting a sigh from Sakura- she wasn't getting any explanations from them tonight, clearly. She looked to Kakashi for assistance, surely they'd tell if he demanded it from them, but he was already asleep again, employing his usual tactic- ignore the situation and it will disappear.

* * *

**A/N:** Constructive criticism is very welcome. I haven't been writing for a whole year- the opening, italicised section probabaly was the last thing I wrote- it was a story idea I never bothered to follow up. I'm trying to get back into the flow of things anyway! Also, chapters are simply going to be named for parts of songs that inspired me during the writing process- so they could be slightly random.


	2. Light Up, As If You Have A Choice

**Summary: **Naruto starts to have nightmares. It's only when he lets his barriers fall that he finds solace in an unlikely place. Set during an alternative storyline where Sasuke doesn't leave. Non-explicit SasuNaru in later chapters. Slash.  
**Warnings: **Un-beta-ed and this story will contain and lead up to the romantic pairing of Naruto and Sasuke. So it will contain slash at some point- so don't continue reading it if you don't like.

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Tsunade's office was subject to constant change- every month she had a different excuse for her paperwork procrastination. This month, the décor was apparently _uninspiring_. Naruto and Sasuke found themselves waiting for her to un-furrow her brow and acknowledge their presence amid a dozen dust sheets and half-red, half-beige wall, where the attempts to redecorate had seemingly been abandoned. The window, grimy from the years it had gone unwashed, provided a source of annoyance as the weakening September sunlight shone directly in their eyes. Naruto continued to squint into it, hand resting on his forehead in a futile attempt to shade his eyes from damage, where Sasuke glanced at the floor. Finally, and with a lethargic yawn, Tsunade glanced up from the form she was filling in.

"You are both suspended from missions until further notice." Tsunade stated, a mild look of amusement crossing her features at their immediate reactions.

"Isn't that just a little harsh?" Naruto challenged, scowling in outrage.

Sakura had been wrong about one thing- Kakashi had never intended to ignore the issue at all. As soon as they'd returned to the village, he had reported his concerns to the Hokage and she was more than willing to take disciplinary action, calling both Naruto and Sasuke to her office only a day after they had arrived back.

"You are of no value to your team if you can't get through one night without trying to kill each other- it is also unprofessional- you can't turn up to clients looking exhausted. Until you learn to get along, neither of you are carrying out any missions. Understood?"

"But you can't just-"

"Do you understand me?" Tsunade repeated, a dangerous tone to her voice, glowering over her mounting stack of paperwork.

"Fine." Naruto grumbled, arms folded and a stubborn frown settling on his features, "When my heating cuts out because I don't have any money to pay my bills, I'm camping out right here!"

"Go ahead," She half-yawned, already preoccupied with the paperwork and scratching her chin with a pen, "I could use the entertainment."

Sasuke had remained silent throughout the exchange, struggling to stifle a smirk as Naruto continued to get worked up. He rolled his eyes when Naruto turned to him in exasperation.

"Sasuke! Say something to change her mind!"

"This is your fault, idiot!"

Tsunade just sighed as they began arguing. Threats and barbed words shot across the room like shuriken and she began to rub her temples in frustration.

"This is exactly what I'm concerned about! You will be suspended until you can learn to live with each other. I'm well aware you're probably just going to ignore me, so you _will_ dine with each other every night until I see a significant improve-"

"Every night?" Sasuke interjected, "I am not eating with him every night- he'll drag me to that stupid ramen bar-"

"Stupid? How is it stupid?" Naruto yelled, outraged, "You're stupid!"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Tsunade screamed, "Both of you! Out of my office now!"

* * *

Dusk truly was his favourite time of the day. It ushered in a lull- a reprieve- from his usually hectic life, even if it only lasted a few hours. The best place to observe the sunset, Naruto had learned, was atop the fourth Hokage's head, the outcrop of rock that etched his stern, paternal disposition into their memories. The horizon unravelled like an age-old tapestry, mirroring the countless watercolour snapshots that lined the corridors in the central tower. He couldn't comprehend how the sky became a blend of fuchsia, orange and scarlet, how the swirl of colours alone was enough to ease him into a sense of security; to magnetise to his worries and allow them to be carried off with the wind, like the rushed wishes muttered breathlessly by a child dropping a coin into a fountain. They would speed away, erasing the tension from his shoulders, releasing sighs of exhaustion that he'd been fighting all day. When he watched the sunset, his façade would drop. High up here, no observers, no expectations, Naruto shed his vivaciousness and truly, completely relaxed.

The sunset wasn't offering a chance for meditation today. He wasn't tired from pushing himself to hard, to his very limits- he was tired because he'd been too scared to close his eyes for even a moment since the nightmare he'd endured on their messenger mission. He was struggling to keep his eyes open now with the wind whispering a sweet lullaby in his ear, the rustling of leaves in the trees offering lethargic undercurrents to the natural rhythm of his breathing. In. Out. And he felt himself unravelling.

"What are you doing?" was the sharp interjection to his reverie.

He jolted back to reality so quickly he felt as though he was about to slip forward and off the mountain. Regaining his balance, he turned to challenge this intruder only to be struck by confusion at the sight of Sasuke, imposing and barely discernable in the dying light. The incomprehension left him speechless, if only momentarily, and Sasuke eyed him warily.

"How did you find me up here?" Naruto muttered, avoiding eye contact, contact with that unnerving glare that was causing a sense of guilt to creep up from his stomach. He felt as though he'd been caught in a state of undress.

"I'm hungry." Sasuke stated. His eyes were oddly fixated on the blurs of clouds overhead. Naruto scowled- _Just ignore my question then, bastard_- and stretched. At least Sasuke had saved him from a possible nightmare.

"And?" he retorted, struggling to stand up and startled from his near loss of balance earlier.

"Have you seriously forgotten?" Sasuke didn't wait for a reply, simply stalked up to him and yanked him up by the arm, much to Naruto's discomfort. Ungratefully, Naruto pulled away from Sasuke's touch, throwing in an unnoticed glare for good measure. Sasuke had already paced ahead, annoyance emanating from the tension in his shoulders.

"Wait!" Naruto yelled, jogging to keep up, "So… where are we eating?"

His question was met with silence; it seemed Sasuke had done enough talking for the night. They ended up in Naruto's favourite place anyway, and he was left slightly speechless when he realised where Sasuke had led him. It was _the _ramen bar- his very favourite- which, if he remembered correctly, was the very same place Sasuke had been calling _stupid_ earlier. He sank down into the stool next to Sasuke, still slightly incredulous. _Why here?_

"You love this place too!?" he enquired excitedly, turning to face Sasuke fully, grinning. After initial panic, Sasuke struggled against the urge to roll his eyes. Instead, he settled for mirroring Tsunade's earlier actions, rubbing his temples and shielding the affectionate curve of his lips from view.

"No- I'm just not in the mood for arguing with you."

"Yeah, whatever!" Naruto exclaimed, the genuine grin was then transferred onto the usual waitress, Ayumi, "The usual, please, and uh-"

Sasuke ordered his food and attempted, mainly failed, to drown out Naruto's voice while they waited for the food. Naruto finally quietened down when the food arrived but not without yawning and stretching first, almost sending both steaming hot bowls flying through the air. They both then proceeded to eat in silence with the occasional slurps from Naruto's side.

"You guys!" Ayumi pitched in at the end of their meal. She leaned over the bar and lowered her voice to a whisper "Take it from me- you're supposed to be more _communicative _on dates!"

"What are you saying?" Naruto hissed, casting a wary glance across the bar, relieved to see that Sasuke also had a look of horror upon his face.

She was then giggling behind her hand, muttering something about "just teasing" and "_seriously_, guys get so threatened when you bring that up…"

The silence deepened considerably as she retreated into the back with the pile of bowls, barely managing to stay balanced. Naruto cleared his throat, attempting to dispel the awkwardness that had suddenly settled.

"I- uh- didn't mean what I said the other night," Naruto murmured, refusing to look up, the guilt of the memory still raw and smarting.

"I don't recall-" Sasuke started, swiftly trying to rack his memories- Naruto hadn't said anything embarrassingly affectionate during that fight, did he? He'd been too focussed on hurting him to notice much else. He remembered, though, that Naruto's eyes had been positively sub-human, primal- they'd struck a deep, unnerving chord of discomfort within him which he didn't want to recall. It had seemed like pure hatred but, if he tried harder to picture it, really they had been cold, hungry, predatory…

"I said that I hated you but I don't so-" Naruto said very rapidly.

"Oh," Sasuke muttered. Naruto had gathered enough courage to look up once again and the look of confusion, mild fear, slipped from Sasuke's face. His eyes narrowed.

"What did _you _think I meant?" he demanded, slight affront in his voice. He succeeded in making that look return, "Just teasing- seriously, you need to lighten up."

The next thing Naruto did he regretted immediately. He met Sasuke's gaze, and forced himself to smile and he felt the strain, realising that, this close, these fake smiles probably just weren't going to cut it. His shabby mask was transparent in the bar's cheap lighting and he saw the suspicion flood Sasuke's eyes.

"Are you ill?" Sasuke asked. Naruto forced his eyes not to widen and bit down the resentful tirade that was hovering on the tip of his tongue, ready to release itself. The mounting pressure from maintaining this positive façade was torturing him. Of course, if it slipped for just a moment, people were just going to assume he was ill, exhausted, having an off day. If Naruto was sad he was just kidding, right?

He averted his eyes.

"I'm fine." He lied.

* * *

He'd never found his bed this comfortable, this soft and inviting. The pillows and duvets caressed him, eased the pressure, drowned out the sound of the thoughts that refused to let him be. Rhythmically, his earlier sense of peace returned to him with no dusky light to guide it. It materialised, _white _hot and searing against the blank cinema screen of his mind. In. Out. And he felt himself unravelling.

* * *

_The light wasn't inescapable this time, just focussed. It served as an imprecise spotlight, a barely discernable marker to some sort of treasure. The ray of moonlight was the only hopeful sign on the whole of the landscape, as starless and wide as it was. Endlessly expansive, the barren plains appeared to go on forever, as though they had been placed there deliberately- a blanket to conceal some awful secret. _

_He was drawn, moth-like, to this solitary source of hope. Something there awaited him. It beckoned to him, drawing him in by his very soul. Latching on to everything that was secret, like a puppeteer anxious to showcase their latest prize, this otherworldly force pulled, lustful to own the darkness that shadowed his every move. _

_The light did not offer hope; it offered release._

_Entering the light left him momentarily blind and breathless._

"… This… is your… punishment…"

_The whisper was carried on the wind, passed right next to his ear, echoed everywhere._

_And then he felt her- her icy grip had found purchase on his neck. She was squeezing, forcing all of the air out of his lungs. He fell to his knees, silently pleading, dizzy. _

_Sakura's scream shot through the air once again and catapulted him awake. _

* * *

Still gasping, he burst into his bathroom and fumbled for the light, grateful for pain the sudden burst of illumination caused to his barely adjusted eyes, the darkness it erased immediately. He ached all over and the memory of that _thing's _grip was still imprinted across his throat. Breathless, he stumbled to the mirror and blanched.

There were bruises across his neck.**

* * *

A/N: **Reviews and constructive criticism welcome! Chapter named from lyrics of _Run _(by Snow Patrol or Leona Lewis, depending on which version you prefer- I honestly can't decide!). The last chapter was named after lyrics from _I Need You To Love Me _by BarlowGirl.


	3. All Your Secrets, All Your Lies

**Summary: **Naruto starts to have nightmares. It's only when he lets his barriers fall that he finds solace in an unlikely place. Set during an alternative storyline where Sasuke doesn't leave. Non-explicit SasuNaru in later chapters. Slash.  
**Warnings: **Un-beta-ed and this story will contain and lead up to the romantic pairing of Naruto and Sasuke. So it will contain slash at some point- so don't continue reading it if you don't like.

**Chapter 3**

"Why are you wearing a scarf?" Sakura asked, "It isn't even cold, Naruto!"

"I'm cold." He muttered, stubbornly avoiding her gaze and rubbing his eyes. He could physically feel the bags that were forming under them. Gravity itself seemed determined to drag his eyelids closed- nature needed him to sleep.

"You are okay, though?" the sudden compassion in Sakura's voice startled him and he guiltily returned her stare and nodded.

"Yeah, don't worry about me!" he exclaimed, forcing a smile onto his face. From Sakura's sceptical expression and the reluctant squeeze of his shoulders, he knew he hadn't convinced her.

* * *

Naruto's neck ached- it was a phantom ache that kept forcing his mind to relive the dream of a few nights ago. He pulled his scarf tighter around his neck and fixated his gaze on the town below him. His favourite spot was tarnished now with the horrors that were constantly replaying in his mind. He felt as though he was in the back row of a cinema, being forced to watch a film he hated. At least he could distance himself from it to some extent. Going without sleep invigorated him- he had achieved a wonderful, albeit momentary victory, over the monster that lurked in his body and he relished it.

But his awareness had suffered, and he didn't immediately notice Sasuke's presence, the offering he'd brought. He only registered a vague warmth due to his sudden closeness.

Naruto didn't understand warmth, how the mere presence of another human being can transfer body heat across even a substantial physical gap. Young, alone, he had thought a person's attitude, how they-acted- was a representation of how warm they were and to him the rest of the population had been cold- their frozen faces would loom, leering, into his consciousness at night; their laughter, the malicious muttering would shoot through his veins, icy and painful. Only the smallest of children, innocent, unprejudiced, still undecided about the world and its inhabitants appeared to emanate a simplistic, fascinated warmth. As a child himself, however, he had not experienced it- no parent allowed their child near enough and this is why he had learned to read warmth (or the lack of) in their faces. The hardening of the eyes, clenching of the jaw, the protective arm around a bewildered toddler were fragments that made up his earliest memories. And as he'd grown up, children naturally began to jeer, to push and to compete and warmth was replaced with steely defiance, rivalry. Only the girls maintained a superficial warmth with one another- the face-to-face civility was practiced, perfected only when they weren't interacting with him.

This closeness with Sasuke, when competition wasn't dominating his mind, dulling his more sociable senses, confused him. Sasuke had the coldest exterior, the most distant expressions- he was the most untouchable and guarded of all- yet the warmth that Naruto could feel merely sitting by his side overwhelmed him. Which one of them was letting their guard down? Naruto had the sneaking suspicion it was him and it angered him slightly- he was in no fit state to be vulnerable. The increasing concern in the gazes Sakura fixed him with were indications that his forced insomnia was not going unnoticed, nor were the mood swings, which were, he was sure, the only reason for Sakura's hesitance in asking what was wrong. Sasuke's concern was even worse to bear. Sasuke had stopped antagonising him because the responses he gave were lacklustre, exhausted. Naruto forced himself to contain his outbursts by no longer speaking. Now Sasuke was the one initiating the conversations.

Sasuke was uninvited. Naruto's perch on the Hokage's head had been violated by Sasuke's presence. He had arrived only moments ago and his warmth had seeped past Naruto's guard so quickly it unsettled him.

"I bought soup." Sasuke murmured. Naruto was glad he wasn't looking at him; his vision was suddenly clouded with tears. So badly he wanted to push him, scream at him but he ached from suppressing his anger. He wanted so badly to say "thank you".

A long silence passed while Naruto stubbornly avoided his gaze. Sasuke shoved the flask into his hand, squeezed his wrist to urge him to drink.

"How long have you been sitting here?"

No response. His voice was literally stuck in his throat- he couldn't release words without the tears spilling forth.

"You didn't turn up to the ramen bar."

And Naruto was suddenly drinking, burying his tears and pushing his emotions back down.

"I- uh-" Naruto stopped, cleared his throat, "decided to stay here and look at the stars."

Sasuke didn't buy this story- Naruto hadn't once met his gaze since he'd arrived.

"Which is your favourite?"

"My what?" Naruto sounded bewildered.

"Your favourite constellation." Sasuke replied, arching his eyebrow.

Naruto squinted at the night sky, pointing vaguely towards a line of three stars, "Oh. That one- I think it's the belt thingy."

Sasuke returned Naruto's suddenly indignant glare with an amused one- at least he was finally looking at him.

"Orion's belt, you mean." Sasuke corrected. Naruto nodded, smiling slightly upon remembering.

"I can't really see the other ones, you know." He confessed, leaning back until he was flat on his back, "Iruka-sensei said that the one over there is the Dragon but there are too many stars clustered together for me to make it out."

Laying down was a mistake, Naruto thought: he hadn't let himself lay down for three days. Even though the rock beneath was hardly as comforting as his bed, the exhaustion and tension was already seeping from his shoulders. The warmth of the soup still lingered in his stomach and he felt sleepy. He was sure he was hallucinating when Sasuke lay down next to him and took the hand he was pointing with to help him trace the general shape. The warmth from Sasuke's grip spread rapidly down his arm and he relaxed. Sasuke murmured about starting from the dragon's head; he guided Naruto's arm down the swish of the dragon's tail.

There were other constellations too. But Naruto had melted; he no longer had the energy to keep his eyes open or keep his shoulders tense. He relinquished all control to the comfort that was Sasuke's presence. Naruto's eyes were no longer open. Sasuke had ceased guiding his hand and had laid it to rest on his chest.

"Naruto?"

"Just…" He muttered, sleep beckoning with a silent siren song, "… give me five…"

* * *

Gasping, he awakened in a foreign bed, heart thundering in his ears as the screams lingered in his mind. He wasn't shown the horrors this time, luckily. He could only hear them, crystal clear in the darkness; he had felt he was crouching, cowering, trying to hide from the noise. He gradually came to the realisation that he must be in one of Sasuke's guest rooms- the Uchiha symbol blazoned on the bedspread seemed the biggest clue. No sunlight blinded him.

He exited the bedroom in search of the kitchen, wary of creaking floorboards that he would be unaccustomed too. What had even happened? He remembered dreaming of soup and stars before the nightmare began. Perhaps that hadn't been dream. He blanched at the possibility he had a fallen asleep next to Sasuke. He must've done to have ended up here.

Relief flooded his senses upon finding the kitchen- no judgemental glares seemed to await him here. He wandered over to the fridge to pour himself a glass of milk.

"Naruto?"

Sasuke's voice came like the crack of a whip from the dark doorway; Naruto dropped the milk in shock and cursed.

"Don't do that!" he hissed, relieved to see that the carton hadn't burst open.

"How are you awake?" Sasuke asked, distrust lacing his expression. Naruto felt this was slightly misplaced- he wasn't the one who'd been carried through town and placed in a stranger's bed. _And how? _

"Well, I don't know, maybe because my body realised it wasn't where it was supposed to be!" he forced as much venom as possible into his words, although it sounded more like bitterness to his ears."

"You should be thanking me- you would've frozen if I'd just left…"

"I didn't ask for your help, did I?" he yelled, slamming the milk back into the fridge with vigour. He realised that his hands were shaking and he gripped onto the handle of the fridge door for support. _Stupid _tears were flooding his vision again and this time control was eluding him- it was all he could do to remain silent as they fell.

"What is wrong with you, idiot? Is this stupid insomnia some sort of protest against Tsunade?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Naruto murmured through his tears, inexplicably angry that his weakness was suddenly up for discussion.

"I'm not stupid, Naruto." Sasuke spat, "You're not leaving this kitchen until I get an explanation."

Naruto glared at him then, finally turning despite the tears. He was indignant- _Look at my weakness then. Have your fun. _The expression of pity that flew across Sasuke's face was the final stroke.

He was suddenly laughing, the tears still streaming. He hadn't been as effective at concealing this issue as he'd thought. He laughed until he felt he could no longer stand and Sasuke was suddenly guiding him to a stool at the breakfast bar. The misplaced euphoria was fading quickly. The odd warmth Sasuke kept providing was trying to lull him back to sleep. He buried his face in his hands.

"I've been having nightmares." He muttered, the pressure of his dreams suddenly settled onto his shoulders as soon as his world was pitch black again.

Naruto in his refusal to meet Sasuke's glare imagined the look of triumph that would surely cross his face- the superiority in his gaze would be too much for him to face. Instead, realisation flitted across Sasuke's features; he found himself placing his hand on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto raised his head to meet Sasuke's gaze, smiled without happiness at the gesture. He couldn't see Sasuke's expression in the darkness.

"I put sleeping pills in the soup I gave you." Sasuke confessed guiltily. Naruto hadn't finished the soup, only taken a few gulps of it.

Naruto recoiled, shrugging the comforting hand off of his shoulder, mourning the loss of a chance to relieve himself of his burden.

"Is it the fox? Is that what you're dreaming about?" Sasuke's concern was deafening. Naruto shook his head and groaned, "I'm sorr—"

"Goodnight, Sasuke." Naruto muttered, closing himself off through his guarded gaze.

* * *

Naruto stayed awake until breakfast and his aversion to the garish sunlight was glaringly obvious. Sasuke watched from as Naruto squinted groggily at his bowl- half expecting it to do something and trying to work out what he was supposed to be doing. It was definitely lacking something. Dulling blue flickered up to meet his seemingly blank gaze.

"Could you pass me the milk?" came the sleep-deprived murmur slowly lacing its way across the space between them.

Sasuke then focused his gaze on the rapidly forming bags under Naruto's eyes as their fingers brushed against each other during the exchange of the milk. He didn't see Naruto fail to grip the carton; he didn't watch it slip and crash onto the tabletop. He only regarded silently the shock that wavered swiftly through Naruto's eyes. Naruto, despite how quick he was to curse, despite how rapidly he jumped from his seat to find something to stem the spillage, failed to stop to flow of milk and it ran onto the floor. Sasuke could only watch- his spoon halfway to his mouth, steadily dripping milk back into his bowl- as Naruto fervently busied himself with cleaning up. He wondered briefly when exactly Naruto had lost control.

The ordeal seemed to have woken him up- the ceiling was suddenly extremely interesting.

"Thank you for what you tried to do for me last night." He murmured rapidly, absently stirring the cereal in his bowl.

"It was Sakura's idea," Sasuke interjected; Naruto smiled affectionately at the thought, "she said you should go see her about it; she has some…"

"I'm fine." Naruto lied, gaze suddenly hardened, "I can deal with it myself."

And Sasuke gave up. Naruto was disappointed but suppressed the urge to pour his heart out and continued to eat his cereal.

* * *

**A/N:** This whole story is planned- I actually wrote the ending first. Which in hindsight was a bad idea- I'm struggling to actually get there with this. Still, any feedback is appreciated (especially concerning the dialogue- I find it very hard) The chapter title was taken from Danger Zone by Gwen Stefani. Thank you!


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